Pilots are by law banned from chatting when plane is below 10,000ft
The Sterile Cockpit Rule says that pilots and cabin crew are not allowed to do anything that isn't part of their duty during certain portions of the flight
HAVE you ever wondered why pilots always do an announcement 20 to 30 minutes before landing?
The answer may not be as straightforward as you might think.
Of course, part of the announcement is to alert the cabin crew to the fact that the plane is in descent, and to tell everyone to put their seat belt on in case of any turbulence - but part of it is also regulated by law.
The law is usually known as Sterile Flight Deck Procedures in Europe and Sterile Cockpit Rule in the US.
It limits what pilots can and can't do during "critical phases of flight", which , is defined as "all ground operations involving taxi, take-off and landing, and all other flight operations conducted below 10,000 feet, except cruise flight."
This means that any talking, eating or listening to music - basically anything that isn't essential to their role - is banned during that period.
The law was introduced after several fatal accidents due to "poor cockpit discipline" where, following investigation into an incident, the pilots were found to be distracted from their duties before or at the time.
The rule also applies to flight attendants.
During the periods where the sterile cockpit rule is enforced, cabin crew are not supposed to contact the pilots unless in an emergency.
They are also supposed to concentrate on preparing the cabin for take off or landing.
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To signal to the cabin crew that the plane is either above or below 10,000ft, some aircrafts will use a chime as an indicator .
Earlier this year, Sun Online Travel revealed that you should never drink the coffee on a flight.
This is because the water used to make it is likely to have been contaminated with faeces.